Separation of suspended solids from fluids



Aug. 31, 1948. B, M.' BECKER Erm.

SEPARATION O? SUSPENDED. SOLIDS FLUIDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 25. 1945 Aug. 3l, 1948.

B. M. BIECKER ETAI- ssrm'non or susmmI somns mol rLuIns Filed' oct. 25, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 era v raey:

Aug. 3l, 1948.

B. M. BECKER ET AL SBPARATON OP SUSPENDED SOLIDS PRO FLUIDS Filed het. 25. 1943- 5 sheensnm 3 ySTATE `Patented Aug. 3i, 1948 ucta Company'. Delaware Riverside, Ill., assign Chicago,

Bernard M. Becker, Chicago, and V:.l'erry'lticAfee, l. ors to Universal Oil Prod- Ill., a corporation of l l Application october' zamasenamu. scam 'l 'i This application is a continuation-in-part of our co-pending application Serial No. 470,274, filed December 26.1942, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in -part of aureo-pending application Serial No. 426,312, iiled January 10, 1942, now abandoned. f f

The invention relates to an improved method and means' for eflecting the separation of finely divided solids, such as dust or powder from a stream of fluid, such as vapor, gas or vapor-gas mixture' in which the solid particles are suspended.

The invention will iind wide application in industry and it is thereforenot limited touse in conjunction with any particular process nor to the separation'of any particuiarsubdivided solid' material from 'any specific fluid. .'However, its features are particularly.advantageous as ap- "plied to the separation Aandfrecovery of valuable l "p'owdered solids, such as catalyst fines, for example from. vaporous and/or gaseous products of theiprocess in which they catalyst is employed.

One'j sfuclivv conversion process now in use in the oil -reiining industry is the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils in a system knownv as the iiuid bed type; 'rhe nula bed type of operation is also beingifafpplid to hydrocarbon conversion reacI tions other than cracking and its.useiulness in thef field of hydrocarbon conversion reactions generally is'being rapidly.` extended. This type of the process has therefore been chosen to specifically illustrate an advantageous application of the features of the invention.

Inl the iiuid bed type of operation as applied to catalytic cracking, a bed of iinely divided solid cracking catalyst is maintained within a vertically. elongated confined reaction zone and the hydrocarbon oil to be cracked is passed in heated essentially vaporous'state upwardly into the reaction zone at a sufiicient velocity that the bed of catalyst particles is kept in a turbulent fluid-like state by the upwardly flowing vaporous hydrocarbon reactants and resulting conversion products. The catalyst 'particles in the reaction zone become contaminated by the deposition thereon of tained in the regenerating zone with an upwardly Aiiowing stream o! oxygen-containing gas under conditions regulated to burn the combustible contaminants and keep the catalyst bed in turbulent iiuid-like condition.

In operations of this type, considerable quanl vtitles of finely divided catalyst particles remain separators in which a substantial portion of the .suspended solid catalyst particles are centrifugally separatedA andwherefrom the separated catalyst particles are Ireturned to the fluid beds.

However, even when several cyclone separating steps are employed in series, 'an appreciable quantity of catalyst iines remain suspended in the va-v porous and gaseous stream discharged therefrom and numerous schemes involving. for example. the use of electrostatic precipitators,l scrubbing of the vapors with charging oil for the process and the like have been proposed for recovering subadvantageous method and stantially allor a major portion of the remaining catalyst fines. l

The invention provides an effective. simple and means forv the continuous recovery of catalyst iines in a system of the type above outlined and for returning the re'fcovered fines to the system for further use in promoting the reaction.

In accordance with our invention,the vaporous Y f and/or gaseous stream in which the iinely subdivided,- solid material is suspended is passed in contact with a moving bed of larger solid particles which serves as a filter for removing the suspended ner particles from the stream. The resultingfmixture of ne and larger solid particles is supplied from the iiltering zone to a stripping zone in which a bed of the solid particles is main- -tainedy in agitated condition by passing a stripdeleterious heavy conversion products of a carbonaceous or' hydrocarbonaceous nature and. to keep the catalyst active for promoting the cracking reaction. it is continuously vregenerated in a separate vconfined regenerating zone to which a` steam of catalyst from the reaction zone is continuously transported and wherefrom a stream of hot regenerated .catalyst is continuously returned to the reaction zone. Regeneration is accomplished by contacting the bed oil catalyst mainping liiuid upwardly therethrough to remove the line particles from the coarser particles by suspending the former in the stripping fluid. As applied to catalytic cracking and other operations of the iiuid bed type, the stripping iiuid, with the recovered catalyst fines suspendedtherein, is returned to the iiui'd bedin the reaction or regenerating zone, thereby returning the recovered catalyst particles to the system for further use.

, We realize that loperations of a type similar in some respects to that herein provided have been proposed for the separation or recovery of nely ydivided solids from a gaseous stream in which solid particles, in thestrlpping zone is in anni# tated or turbulent state resembling. for example.

that of a boiling liquid. We have further found` that there is a rather sharp and critical demarkation between the quiescent condition required in theiiltering zone and the agitatedcondition required in the stripping zone. 'The condition of the bed with respect to agitation or quiescence of the'particles composing Vthesame is a function of the density and average size oi the particles. the superficial linear velocity of the gas orother fiuid passing through the bed and the nature of the fluid. Withthe other conditions fixed, there is a "first critical velocity for the fluid at which lthe solid particles comprising the bed begin'to be agitated. A velocity lower than this critical value will cause the bed to act as a filter to collect fines from the fluid passing therethrough while a velocity above this critical value willveifect the stripping of fines from the bed.

We have conducted tests with various forms v and types of subdivided materials to determine the accuracy of our previous observations withl respect to the critical nature of the relatively quiescent or agitated condition of a bed of such material in relation to the velocity of the fluid passed therethrough. Employing alumina granules, for example, ranging from l' to 60 mesh size and employing dry air at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. as the fluid, the first critical velocity, as defined above, can be determined by the empirical equation:

Von-:the superficial first critical velocity as dei fined above in feet per second.

Dp=the average diameter of the solid particles in feet.

Applying this formula it will be found, for example, with alumina granules of mesh size, lines will be stripped from the bed in dry air at room' temperature when the superficial linear velocity of the air is greater than 0.61 foot per second. at which velocity the granules comprising the bed `become agitated. With a linear velocity below this figure, fines in the incoming air stream will be filtered therefrom in the bed.

The foregoing information with respect to what we term, for convenience. the velocity of the fluid is given for the purpose of concisely illustrating what is meant by this term. A more general formula for determining the first critical velocity, which is applicable to any size and type of subdivided solid material, as well as any type of fluid, and a wide range of temperature and pressure conditions is not con-` sidered necessary to a clear understanding of the invention nor to determine the velocities which should be used in the filteringv and stripping zones for conducting the process provided by the invention. To determine the proper velocity in the filtering zone, the rate at which the incoming fluid containing the finely subdivided solid material which is to be separated therefrom is supplied to the filtering zone should be adjusted until visual observation of the bed reveals that the particles remain relatively static with respect first critical to eachother. With this condition in the bed it will be foundl that littleoryno fine material exists in the outgoing fluid stream discharged from the filtering zone. The rate at which stripping fluid is supplied to the stripping zone is adjusted until visual inspection of the bed reveals that` the'solid particles are in agitated or fiuidized condition. and, when this condition is reached it will be.l found that fines are stripped from the bedand included in the stream of fluid discharged from the upper portion thereof and that the larger particles of subdivided solid materialpassingfrom the lower portion ot the stripping zone to` the filtering zone are substantially -free of an. 2 'y l The features and advantages of the invention will `be more apparent with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing and the following description thereof.

In the drawing.

Fig. l -is an'l elevational view. shown principally in section, of one specific form of apparatus embodying the features of the invention and in which the improved filtering process provided by the invention may be conducted.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view illustrating a fluid bed type system such as-empioyed, for example, inthe catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils and in which the apparatus illustrated in Fig. l is employed for recovering catalyst fines from the eiiluent gases leaving the reactor and regenerator.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view illustrating an alternative arrangement of equipment. suitable for the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils.

Referring now to Fig. l. the apparatus illustrated which may be employed either as a' regenerator or reactor, comprises an outer shell I, closed at its upper and lower end, respectively, by heads 2 and 3. The shelland its accompanying heads may 'be constructed of any suitable material capable of withstanding the conditions of service to which it may be subjected and may, in some cases, be covered with suitable insulating material to reduce radiation' heat losses. Within shell I and spaced therefrom is a second shell 4, closed at its lower end by head 5 and at its upper end by a plurality of louvers 6. In place of louvers 6 may be substituted perforate plate or suitable mesh material, when desired. Spaced from louvers 6 is a perforate plate -6 forming therewith a space within which is maintained a moving bed of filtering material.

During operation. when the apparatus is employed as a reactor, a fluid-like bed of finely divided catalytic' material and hydrocarbon vapors I is maintained within the inner shell. Incoming hydrocarbon vapors and active catalyst particles to maintain bed 'I are introduced through line 8 and distributing cone 9. The spent catalyst particles are. withdrawn through line I0. Above the turbulent fluid-like bed 1. within theinner shellpis a separation space Il in which a relatively dispersed phase of reaction products and finely divided catalytic material is maintained.

Between the inner and outer shells 4 and I of the apparatus is dispersed a continuously moving compact bed of granular filtering material I2.- The 4material comprising bed I2 should be of somewhat larger particle size than the catalytic material employed within the inner shell to promote the desired reaction. It may be a relatively non-friable inert material or of the same composition as theaforesaid catalyst. The incoming lwardiy moving bed across louvers material to maintain bed I2 is supplied through line Il and passes as a relatively compact down- 5 and through the annular space between shells I and 4. After passing downwardly through' the apparatus, this filtering material is removed through line I4.

The eilluent reaction products, containing finely divided catalyst particles from the inner shell, pass through louvers 8 and filtering bed I2, wherein the catalyst particles are removed and the substantially solid particle-free reaction products leave the reactor by means of line I5 tto pass to subsequent fractionation and recovery equipment. The separated solid particles remain in the filtering material bed Iand are removed therewith from the reactor.

Referring now to Fig. 2, I' and 'I denote respectively a reactor and regenerator in' a system suitable for the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons. Vessels I and I' are similar in construction and are illustrated in more detail in Fig. l; however, l

being used for a slightly different function in this system are designated by ldifferent characters. Reactor I is identical with and functions the same as the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1. That is, it contains a fluid-like bed/'of hydrocarbon vapors and catalyst particles which is surrounded by a compact moving bed of filtering material.

The hydrocarbon charge is introduced to the system through line 8, controlled by valve I 6, and it is commingled with freshly regenerated catalyst from line III', controlled by valve I1. -The efiluent reaction products substantially free of solid particles leave the reactor through line I5, controlled lby valve Il, to` be directed to subsequent fractionation and recoveryy equipment.

The spent catalyst is removed through line III, controlled by valve I8, and is commingled. with regenerating gas in line 8' and directed into' regenerator I'. Granular ltering material is supplied to reactor I through line-I3, controlled by valve 20, and the filtering material containing fine particles is removed through line I4, controlled by valve 2l. The removed filtering material is commingled in line 22 with air, controlled by valve 23, and directed irlto stripper 24, wherein it is maintained in a fluid-like state and the fine particles removed therefrom by the stream of air.

'I'he filtering material and air-containing fine particles are separated in hopper 25, the filtering material remaining in the hopper and the aircontaining fine particles being removed through line to be supplied to line 8' as a portion of the regenerating gas. When desired, additional regenerating gas may be supplied to the system through line 21, controlled by valve 28. Theair and fines removed from the ltering material in stripper 24 and separator 25 are commingled with the spent catalyst from reactor Iand directed into regenerator I', wherein the regenerating gas and spent catalyst particles will form a fluid-like bed within the inner shell.

The carbonaceous material, previously deposited upon the catalyst in reactor I, is .removed 4in regenerator I' by combustion with oxygen in the regenerating gas. The reactivated catalyst particles are removed from regeneratorl I.' -.by

- means of line Ill. The combustion products containing .catalyst fines pass through a moving bed of compact filtering material vsimilar to bed I2 in reactor I, and thecatalyst-free gases are removed from the regenerator by means of line I5' controlled by valve 30, and are directed to suitable waste heat recovery equipment as desired. Filtering material is supplied to regenerator I by means ot line I l', controlled by valve 2l, and

the filtering material containing fines is removed through line I4', controlled by valve l2. The removed flltering material is commingled with air in line 33, controlled by valve I4, and directed into 'stripper 24 along with the nltering material and air passing through line 22.

' Suitable bianketing gases su'ch as steam or other inert fluids may be introduced to the various catalyst-carrying lines Il, I3', I4 and I4', respectively, by means of lines 35, IB, 31 and 3l..

Referring now to Fig. 3, reactor I'and regenerator I.' and their respective inlet and outlet connections are the same`as those illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. However, the balance of the system is somewhat modified with respect to Fig. 2 in that separate strippers and separators are utilized for the filtering material employedin the two vessels.

A hydrocarbon lcharge is introduced to the systemV through line 8, controlled by valve IB, and is commingled with reactivated catalyst from line I 0. controlled by valve- I1. The catalyst containing hydrocarbons are supplied to reactor I by means of line 8. and the reaction products are removed through line I5, controlled byvalve I8. The spent catalyst is removed through line III, controlled by valve I9 and is commingled with regenerating gas in line l'. and passes into regenerator I'. Eilluent combustion products from the regenerator are withdrawn through line I5', controlled by valve 30, to be directed to suitable waste heat recovery equipment.

vFiltering material is supplied to reactor I i through line I3, controlled by valve 20, and is 'stream containing fines is separated from the filtering material in separator hopper 63, the filtering material remaining in the hopper and the air stream being withdrawn through line 54. Separated filtering material in separator hopper 63 is then directed by means of line Il', controlled by valve 3 I, into regenerator I.

, After passing therethrough and removing nes from the combustion products, the filtering material is removed through line I4', controlled by valve 32. The filtering material removed from the regenerator is commingled in line 65 with air, controlled by valve ..and passes into a second stripper 61, wherein the stream of air removes fines from the filteringmaterial and after passing through separator hopper 68, is withdrawn "through line 89. The filtering material, substantially free of fines, remains in hopper 8l and is directed therefrom by means of line I 3, controlled vby valve 20, into reactor I.

In some cases, it may be desirable to provide Vcool filtering material for the regenerator; for

instance, in cases where the phenomenon ol' .afterburning is encountered.. This phenomenon y results, it is thought. from the combustion of CQ with excess oxygen in `the upper or dispersed phase of the regenerator and 'considerably increases the temperature in this region'. -By introducing cool ltering material to this portion oi the regenerator. this aiterburning may be considerably reduced. When it is "desirableto cool the filtering material being supplied'to the resenerator, cooling coil 1li may be employed, suitable cooling iluid therefore being introduced through line 1i. controlled by valve 12. and withdrawn therefrom through line 13, controlled by valve 1I.'

'I'he air stream containing fines from separator hoppers 63 and 68 may be sumcientpin many cases, to promote the desired combustion in regenerator I', but in instances where this is not true, additional oxygen-containing gases may be introduced to the system through line 15, con- Y trolled by valve 16.

In some cases. instead of commingling the withdrawn filtering material from the reactor with air. it may be desirable to employ a vaporiz'ed pornated'catalyst is removed from said body and regenerated by burning combustible contaminants therefrom in a regenerating zone containing a iiuidized body of catalyst particles. the methodV which comprises passing said stream oi' gaseous reaction products through a compact moving bed lof solid particles coarser than said lines to sepa- 4Q Number rate suspended fines from said-gaseousproducts. supplying the resultant mixture of coarser particles and fines to a stripping zone. passing an ized body o! catalyst particles in said regenerating .f1-.The process of claim i further characterized Airrthai; a stream of gaseous combustion products containing suspended catalyst fines isdischarged from said iiuidized body in said regenerating zone, said stream' o! gaseous combustion products is passed through 9e separate-compact moving bed of solid particles coarser than said iines to separate suspended ilnes i'rom said combustion products. the resultant separate mixture of coarser particles and Vlines is supplied to said stripping zone along with "said ilrst named mixture; and coarser' particles freed'ot'said iines in said stripggg zone areV returned to each of said compact `:LAn apparatus for contacting a fluid with f ilnely divided solid particles which comprises an suspended catalyst lines. and wherein contamloxygen-containing gas through-said mixture in the stripping v:zone to separate catalyst lines from.

the coarser particles, returning the latter to said l0 compact bed, Iremovinga. suspension of catalyst fines in oxygen-containing gas from the stripping outer chamber. a'nuid outlet from the upper portion oi said outer chamber'. a solid particle outlet from 'the' lower portion `of said outer chamber. an inner-chamberspaoed' from said outer chamber 'and containing a plurality of openings in the upper portion'thereot lwhereby to provide ,iiuid passageways betweensaid inner chamber and the .upper internal portion of said outer chamber, a uid inlet 'tothe lower portion of said inner chambera solidparticle outlet from the lower portion of said inner chamber. a perforated partitioning member disposed within the upper portion oi' said outer chamber. said member being spaeedirom and surrounding the upper portion of. inner'chrnber.- and a solid particle inlet to the space defined between said 'partitioning member and theupper portion of said inner BERNARD M. BECKER. y 'JERRY ucAFEE.

REFERENCES crran T he following references are of record in the of this-patentz Y v UNITED STATES PATENTS vName Date f-Luasso 'Nordstrom ;-.1 Aug. 11, 1925 A4,302,209. Goddin, Jr. Nov. 17, 1942 2,321,175 Conn ....-i Aug. i7, i943 2.411.208 H all et al. Nov. 19, 1946 FOREIGNEATENTS A Number Y Country Date 91,075 sweden Dec. 21, i937 

